Year in Review: The Top USTA St. Louis Stories from 2021

With 2022 underway, look back at some of the highlights from an action-packed 2021 in USTA St. Louis. Relive (and re-read!) the top news articles and human-interest features from the past 12 months. Thanks to everyone who contributed to a successful 2021 for USTA St. Louis!

 

January

 

The 2021 calendar year kicked off with the hiring of digital assistant Josh Sellmeyer to cover USTA St. Louis District news. January also featured Junior Team Tennis coaches beginning to ready their players and squads for their forthcoming spring campaign.

 

Read more about Josh.

Read more about Junior Team Tennis.

 

February

 

Gloria Harvey twice underwent surgery for thyroid cancer. And on both occasions, the USTA league player and captain was back competing on the tennis court just two weeks post-surgery.

 

“[The cancer diagnosis] was not a big deal. I just went about my life the way I wanted to,” Harvey said. “It’s not a death sentence or anything like that. But even if it were, I’d still be going out and playing tennis and doing whatever until my demise. It’s all good. Nothing keeps me down.” Read more.

 

Local high school boys’ tennis programs had a majority of their 2020 seasons stripped away due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Back in action for 2021, though, both MSHSAA Assistant Executive Director Kenny Seifert and Edwardsville High School Head Coach David Lipe were optimistic student-athletes would savor the opportunity to compete once again. Read more.

 

March

 

With Women’s History Month occurring annually in March, USTA St. Louis featured a trio of prominent St. Louis-based females who have left an indelible mark on the game of tennis: Kim Steinmetz, Marilyn Mueller and Judy Dippold. Read more.

 

The USTA St. Louis District became operating manager of the historic Dwight Davis Tennis Center in Forest Park this month. Dwight Davis was the first public tennis facility in the country when it opened and has been a key cog in the community ever since. Read more.

 

April

 

Vicki Moran was stunned to discover she had been nominated and named a USTA League Sportsmanship winner. Moran — who started playing tennis as a fun activity for exercise and has now competed for eight years — said sporting behavior is critical to the sport.

 

“[Sportsmanship] is the way we keep positivity rolling in an environment and a world that is always so easily taken back with negativity,” Moran said. “To roll with it and be part of the real positive elements of the world instead of being part of the negative.” Read more.

 

USTA St. Louis and Missouri Tennis Service Representative Michael Marotta provided a presentation and exhibit booth at the Missouri Park & Recreation Association Conference & Expo in Columbia on the many ways USTA can benefit park & rec departments. Read more.

 

May

 

Lesley McIntire was in her 50s when she participated in competitive sports for the first time. McIntire’s neighbor convinced her to give tennis a try, and she was “totally hooked” from the start. Nearly two decades later, McIntire still plays for and captains the same team that formulated in 2003. The squad even plays on the same day at the exact same time all these years later. Read more.

 

The USTA St. Louis District hosted an adult league player party and fundraiser for the Dwight Davis Tennis Center in late May. USTA St. Louis wanted to recognize its members for all they do and thank them for being terrific tennis ambassadors. Read more.

 

June

 

Despite her hectic lifestyle as a mother of five, Nancy Kraemer has found a way to carve out time to participate in multiple USTA leagues. Kraemer shouted out her captains — Amy Fikes and Mary Beth Handley — for making her tennis experience so much fun.

 

“As soon as I started, I just kind of fell in love with it,” Kraemer said of her USTA career. Read more.

 

Several local teams punched their ticket to the USTA Missouri Valley Section Championships by winning their flights at the Adult 18 & Over St. Louis District Championships toward the end of June. While heat and inclement weather played a factor, the event went smoothly thanks to a great group of volunteers. Read more.

 

July

 

Justin Stuckey — Saint Louis University men’s and women’s tennis head coach — has guided the once-scuffling Billikens into contenders just like he’s accomplished at his previous collegiate posts. Stuckey was initially the youngest college tennis head coach in the nation when he took the reins at Wittenberg University in 2008.

 

“I like the fact that you can help young people,” Stuckey said of college coaching. “I like to give young people the experience of what it’s like to be in a winning culture and winning environment. It’s an experience they’ll remember for the rest of their life.” Read more.

 

After a 15-year stint as head coach of the WashU women’s tennis program, Kelly Stahlhuth decided it was time for a fresh twist to her career. Bayless High School came knocking, as Stahlhuth took over athletic director duties and revived the long-dormant boys’ and girls’ tennis programs that hadn’t existed since the late 1980s. Read more.

 

August

 

A decade after taking free tennis lessons through a nonprofit that targeted underserved populations, Darian Banks is leading the charge of an almost identical nonprofit program in the form of the East St. Louis Community Tennis Association. Banks introduces tennis to at least 25 kids in underserved areas of St. Louis each week. Read more.

 

A chance meeting with childhood idol Jimmy Connors on a plane ride pushed high school teacher Michele Walton to pick up tennis. She now competes on several USTA teams and is an upbeat influence on her squads. Read more.

 

Multiple local junior players represented the USTA St. Louis District at the prestigious USTA Level 1 National Championships, widely considered one of the top junior tourneys of the year. Read more.

 

September

 

Two-time 35 & Over National Tournament doubles champion Jorge Ramirez has made a major imprint as a teaching pro at Chesterfield’s Forest Lake Tennis Club, where he’s spent the past three decades aiding players of all ages and levels. Read more.

 

USTA Tennis On Campus provides college students a competitive club outlet. And for Saint Louis University’s Aubrey Zahuranec — who attended SLU by way of her hometown of Cleveland — it also provided a community of friends.

 

“I saw myself go from that first-year student who didn’t necessarily know what was going to happen, what college is about, and grow into someone who can see honestly the next 5, 10 years of my life laid out,” Zahuranec said. “Club tennis really started that foundation for me. Cub tennis is not only a place where people find their friends, but also find who they are.” Read more.

 

October

 

The annual USTA St. Louis Awards Celebration at Dwight Davis was a hit, with a special tribute to the retiring Mary Vassar one of the night’s many highlights. Vassar started her career at USTA as a volunteer in the late 1990s and spent 15 years as USTA St. Louis executive director.

 

“My favorite part about working with USTA St. Louis is all the people I’ve been able to meet and all the friends I’ve made through tennis,” Vassar said. “The best part of the job is the people. When the phone rings, you never know what somebody is going to want, say, ask or an idea they’re bringing to us.” Read more.

 

Stepping into Vassar’s role was Jill Kunkel, who progressed from her position as USTA St. Louis adult league coordinator. Vassar called Kunkel “a fabulous league coordinator,” while Kunkel said Vassar had a huge impact on her and the St. Louis tennis community.

 

“I’m super excited,” Kunkel said. “It really just brings a new approach to tennis. With Mary having been here for 22 years — that’s a long time. It’s just kind of a new outlook on the future of tennis in St. Louis.” Read more.

 

November

 

WashU students spearheaded an effort to form Buddy Up for Life in St. Louis, an organization that provides tennis classes for athletes with Down syndrome. Read more.

 

Ben Gildehaus and Paul Paige teamed up to create BreakPoint Youth Tennis Association, a nonprofit that uses tennis as a vessel to build self-confidence in disadvantaged youth. BreakPoint earned selection as the 2021 USTA Missouri Valley Outstanding Community Tennis Association. Read more.

 

December

 

USTA St. Louis President John Kelly wrapped up the year by thanking everyone involved with the district for their efforts and involvement throughout 2021. Read more.